A crisis of too many, not too few.

Reflections on elephants, trees, conservation and the future by Dr Brian Child.

Themes: Conservation, Parks, Human rights, Poverty, Tourism, Animal rights, Indigenous people

From a series of articles published in Botswana's Mmegionline between April and July 2019

The fatal flaws of compassionate conservation.

A short discussion of the ethical boundaries of our varied interpretations of what constitutes a compassionate view of conservation.

Themes: Animal rights, Conservation, Human rights

Conservation hysteria or Conservation fact?

Botswana re-introduces hunting to a chorus of criticism.

Themes: Conservation, Indigenous people, NGOs, Parks, Poverty

After Ian Khama stepped down as President of Botswana to be replaced by Mokgweetsi Masisi some of the corner stone "environmental" policies of Ian Khama were immediately up for review. Political gamesmanship or sound conservation strategy?

The Indigenous World 2019

Over the last 33 years, The Indigenous World has documented an increasing trend towards harassment and criminalisation of indigenous peoples and communities.

Themes: Human rights, Fisheries, Tourism, Indigenous people, NGOs, Parks, Pastoralists, Conservation

Throughout 2018, there has been an increase in the documentation and reporting of illegal surveillance, arbitrary arrests, travel bans to prevent free movement, threats, dispossession and killings. We have witnessed instruments which are meant to protect indigenous peoples being turned against them, through the use of legislation and the justice system, to penalise and criminalise indigenous peoples’ assertion of their rights. The collection of events compiled in this edition demonstrate the continuation of increased violence, criminalisation, harassment and lack of justice that indigenous peoples experience as they continue to defend their lands and identity.

'View from the Termite Mound' responds to the paper on the Serengeti-Mara Squeeze.

Science Magazine Article with Huge Media Coverage, Anti-Loliondo Co-Author, and a not so Hidden Wish to Influence the Tanzanian Government

Themes: Conservation, Pastoralists, Parks, Human rights, NGOs

British watchdog launches inquiry into WWF abuse allegations.

Charity Commission to assess whether money sent abroad was subject to due diligence as German MPs urge funding halt

Themes: Conservation, Human rights, Parks, NGOs, Indigenous people

The Serengeti-Mara squeeze.

one of the world’s most iconic ecosystems under pressure.

Themes: Agriculture, Conservation, Policy, Parks, Pastoralists

New finding alters our view on what is needed to protect biodiversity.

Did indigenous conservation ethics exist?

Themes: Conservation, Indigenous people

Abstract - Despite the common assertion that some indigenous peoples were conservationists, a number of authors have claimed that persuasive evidence for this is lacking. They have, apparently, overlooked such evidence. It is well documented, for example, that centuries ago Pacific Islanders invented and employed all the basic marine conservation measures that Europeans began to use only in the early 1900s. For islanders to have devised and employed deliberate conservation measures, they first had to learn that their natural resources were limited. They could only have done so by depleting them. Evidence that a culture overharvested or otherwise damaged its natural resources at some period in its history is no proof that it was, for all times, non-conservationist. Some Pacific Island cultures learned that their marine resources were limited and introduced marine conservation measures accordingly. Others never learned this lesson because their marine resources always exceeded harvesting pressure. I suggest that a worldwide survey of relevant literature would show that societies that developed con-scious conservation practices were usually small and relied on natural resources that were circum-scribed and thus easily depleted. Today, in an era of shrinking natural resource frontiers, establishing whether a conservation ethic exists in an indigenous culture is a vital first step in determining how to help its people live within their natural resource limits.